This Numad is on the road today--I'm off to New York City bundled up in a sweatshirt on this hot post-Labor Day Weekend day (see previous post) for opening night of The Legend of Georgia McBride at MCC Theater. Should be a fun evening celebrating the start of MCC's 2015/16 season with friends and colleagues.
When I'm traveling for work (or for pleasure) I like to maximize the time spent going from one place to another. Sure, it is often tempting to rest my head and snooze out for a few hours, but let's be real: We've got lots of good work to do!
Here's a few of my Numad travel secrets so that I can be as productive as possible while I'm on the road:
- Download your travel apps ahead of time, and download your tickets to Apple Passport. There's nothing worse than getting to the ticket counter and having a slow Internet connection. Download them ahead of time. If you need to change the ticket at the last minute, its never a problem.
- Travel early in the morning or late at night. The security lines are usually non-existent, and you can get to your destination at a reasonable hour. (The flip-side is that if you are taking a late-night flight, and you miss it... well, you'll find yourself checking into an airport hotel or finding a corner on the airport floor.)
- Pull out your notebook and make an action plan for your work and travel time, or sketch out some new ideas. You know you're supposed to turn off those cellphones when they close the airplane door! So do it, and then use the disconnected time to connect with what you need to do for the day. You can do the same on a train as you wait for the cafe car to open. (In Boston, that's only after the first three stops... not enough time to pull out the laptop, and then close it and move to the cafe car. Again, see previous post to read what I'm talking about.)
- Whatever you decide to work on, make sure you can get it done before you arrive at your destination. For me, there's nothing better than crossing something off the to-do list. You get the feeling of accomplishment, and when you step off the plane or train, you can do so ready to tackle the reason for the trip.
Check out these travel trips from tech executives. What would you add to the list?